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A criminal, allegedly from the notorious West Gang, was shot and killed in a gunbattle with police in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
It is understood that police were on their way to visit a home in the area, after officers were shot at earlier in the day, when they were involved in a car accident.
While they were attending to the collision, they were allegedly approached by members of the gang.
A confrontation happened and a gun battle ensued. Some gang members fled, while one died, reported broadcaster eNCA
The province has hogged the headlines in recent months amid dozens of shootouts between alleged criminals and police during attempted arrests.
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At least 37 suspects have been killed by law enforcement officers over the past month, 28 of those in KZN. Since April, 68 alleged criminals have been shot by police in standoffs.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola responded to concerns over alleged heavy-handedness by police.
He said officers were trying to protect themselves.
“We have listened to the different views that continue to be expressed by ordinary citizens and experts within the field of policing in relation to the number of suspects that have been shot and killed by police in KwaZulu-Natal in recent months.
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“It is important to clarify that, our mandate as the Saps (South African Police Service) is to bring perpetrators to justice by arresting them, but quite often in pursuit of arresting these often dangerous and heavily armed criminals, our police officers are more than often met with heavy gunfire and that leaves our officers with no option but to defend themselves and the communities that they serve,” he said.
KZN violence monitor and social justice advocate Mary de Haas said the shootouts were the result of police and Crime Intelligence failures.
“It shouldn’t be happening; it’s like apartheid all over again.
“When you just shoot people dead you don’t know whether among them are innocent people. It’s not correct and it shouldn’t be happening in the first place.
“If the police were functioning properly. You wouldn’t have so many armed criminals around. That’s why we have crime intelligence. They are supposed to pick up where the guns are, they are supposed to pre-empt this type of thing to prevent the shootouts,” she told SABC News.
Additional reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde and Gareth Cotterell
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